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**guns01** · 01-04-2013, 06:05 PM

Re: I though Illinois was on the right path (finally) with gun control until I saw this.

Here is a little more information about what they are trying to do.

ISRA NOTICE: A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM ISRA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RICHARD PEARSON

January 4, 2013 - The Week in Review – The Unabashed Arrogance of the Gun Control Movement

As most of you know, this has been a very tense week for the law-abiding Illinois firearm owner. As most of us were getting ready to ring in the New Year, Senate President John Cullerton and his band of gun controllers were secretly preparing a major offensive against your gun rights. We got wind of the pending attack on your 2nd Amendment rights early in the week and immediately called together our lobbyists and strategic planners to build a defense.

When we finally saw the public release of the Cullerton plan mid-week, we were shocked at what we saw. Based on recent events, we fully expected to see legislative proposals to ban so-called “assault weapons,” and so-called “high-capacity ammunition feeding devices.” However, those affronts to your rights paled in comparison with what Cullerton’s proposal entailed. Here is a sampling of the extremist proposals advanced by Cullerton’s gun-grab plan:

- The Illinois State Police would be given full control over the design and operation of commercial gun ranges in the state. That control would extend from the design of the bullet backstops to qualifications of range employees and even to the color of the paint on the walls of the men’s room. The State Police would determine the hours of operation, what types and calibers of firearms could be discharged at the range, and even a minimum number of square feet. Every range customer would have to undergo a background check and each customer’s visit would be logged by the range operator. Any Illinois law enforcement agency could conduct unannounced and warrantless inspections and searches of ranges at any time. Those searches and inspections would extend to range customers and their property. That means that the Chicago Police Department would have the authority to raid a range in Peoria and roust the customers of that range. The bottom line is, this range regulation proposal has the sole objective of running commercial shooting ranges out of business. We had never seen anything like this before, but the intent was clear.

- All semi-automatic firearms would be either banned outright, or be so severely taxed and restricted that ownership would be impractical. We expected to see attempts to ban or regulate AR and AK type firearms, but what we saw in Cullerton’s proposal carried that to an extreme. Cullerton’s gun ban would extend to all semiautomatic rifles, pistols and shotguns. Additionally, many pump action rifles and shotguns would be banned as well. This ban would include such classics as the 1911 and the M1 Garand. Of course, all Glocks, Sig-Sauers, and other popular pistols would be banned as well. Estimates are that about 50% of rifles and 80% of handguns lawfully-owned by Illinois citizens would be subject to ban and confiscation under the Cullerton gun ban.

- A bizarre and convoluted scheme to register all “ammunition feeding devices” capable of holding more than 10 rounds – including magazines, stripper clips, drums, etc. Since none of these devices possess serial numbers, owners of these devices would essentially register them under the “honor system.” Of course, we all know how well criminals stick to the honor system.

The two bills containing these provisions, HB0815 and HB1263, were both assigned to the Senate Public Health Committee for review. This committee is notoriously anti-gun and is stacked 6 to 4 with antigun Democrats under Cullerton’s thumb. On Wednesday night, the two bills came up for hearing before the Senate Public Health Committee. During debate of these two bills, we heard straight from the horses’ mouths what the intents and purposes of these bills were. Sitting there listening to the sponsors and their supporters was a very maddening experience.

Committee testimony given by the anti-gunners confirmed that the gun control movement holds firearm owners in deep contempt. During testimony, the gun controllers claimed that the range restriction bill would actually preserve 2nd Amendment rights while providing public safety. The gun controllers acknowledged that most semiautomatic firearms would be banned, but that people who wished to shoot semiautomatics should be reassured because they would be able to go to an approved range and legally rent semiautomatics to shoot. In other words, you should not be upset about surrendering your $5,000 target rifle because you can still go down to an approved range and get a junker out of the rental case to plink with. This was one of the most condescending lines of testimony I have ever heard levied against the right to keep and bear arms – and the anti-gunners uttered it with completely straight faces. The gun controllers really need to keep in mind that the 2nd Amendment says "keep and bear arms,” not "rent arms.”

Of course, nowhere in any of the testimony given by the bills’ supporters was there any mention of how these restrictions and bans would affect criminals. In fact, the bill proponents became extremely defensive when pro-gun witnesses mentioned anything about violent gun-toting criminals. It was clear that the proponents’ focus was solely on lawfully held firearms. In not so many words, the supporters of these bills claimed that they were good “first steps” to achieving a “civil society.” In the twisted world-view of the anti-gunners, law-abiding citizens are standing in the way of a civil society, not criminals.

As most of you may know, the two bills passed out of the Public Health Committee by 6-4 and 6-3 votes. The next step would be a vote on the floor. Late Thursday, the newspapers were reporting that the sponsors are delaying a vote on the bills because they do not have enough support for passage. Please, don’t be fooled by such claims. These bills are alive and well and can be called up for a vote at any time.

In writing this note, I thought I’d give you a taste of what the ISRA lobbyists experience every day in Springfield. We could not continue to do what we do without knowing that you, the law-abiding citizen, has our back. Your support is crucial to our success – we do all we do for you. So, with that in mind, there are a few things I’d like you to do:

1. Remember that these anti-gun bills are eligible for a full vote of the Senate at any time up through next Wednesday. Do not be lulled to sleep by media claims that the bills are dead.

2. Keep an eye on your email for any alerts the ISRA issues regarding these bills or any other anti-gun activity.

3. Please consider giving the ISRA a generous monetary donation so we may continue the fight for your rights.

Thanks for your time,

Richard A. Pearson, Executive Director Illinois State Rifle Association

**maxseg** · 01-04-2013, 10:29 PM

Re: I though Illinois was on the right path (finally) with gun control until I saw this.

I want to move far away.......

**JsJs24** · 01-05-2013, 05:00 PM

Re: I though Illinois was on the right path (finally) with gun control until I saw this.

I don't mean to offend anyone from the great state of Illinois, but the political machine there is probably the most corrupt in the country and has been since the mid 19th century. But if they somehow got such a ban passed here's what would likely happen:

Thousands of serious gun enthusiasts and constitutionalists would move out of the state which would hurt the economy and tax revenue of Illinois.

Some or all of those politicians would be voted out of office after the NRA and GOA kick up their lobbying efforts 100 fold.

The economy would suffer significantly from job losses due to hundreds of gun stores closing, gun ranges, ammo dealers, etc.

Crime will increase drastically.

**maxseg** · 01-05-2013, 05:10 PM

Re: I though Illinois was on the right path (finally) with gun control until I saw this.

I live in Il and work for IL. But you did nail it on the head, very corrupt with very stringent gun laws. And guess what, Chitown still has the worst murder rate.

**JsJs24** · 01-05-2013, 05:15 PM

Re: I though Illinois was on the right path (finally) with gun control until I saw this.

I wonder if they would reimburse you for the value of the guns they would compensate? Or would they flat out steal them? This is disgusting on all grounds. And the fact that the gun ban reversal was heard by the Supreme Court makes me wonder how it is possible to ignore that ruling? Any lawyers on here?

I believe as I have now for a few years that we are fast approaching a dictator style government, and may eventually end up under full totalitarianism. That is the ultimate problem with a pure democracy style government, it always leads to despotism. There is a reason the U.S. was founded as a Constitutional Republic and not a Democracy. The founders believed the latter would lead to complete despotism, and thus they omitted even the use of the word Democracy in the entire Constitution.

**chris32** · 01-05-2013, 05:20 PM

Re: I though Illinois was on the right path (finally) with gun control until I saw this.

man this is never ending. i saw a good point in another article about watching some of these prescription drugs that are prescribed that make people wanna harm themselves or others. guns don't kill people... people kill people. i wish i could remember the thread that i'm referring to. actually i think it mighta been posted by baby1 awhile back but not sure... anyway let us keep our guns. it's our RIGHT!!

**maxseg** · 01-05-2013, 05:21 PM

Re: I though Illinois was on the right path (finally) with gun control until I saw this.

I will not give up my weapons under any circumstance.

**JsJs24** · 01-05-2013, 09:29 PM

Re: I though Illinois was on the right path (finally) with gun control until I saw this.

Originally posted by chris32 View Post

man this is never ending. i saw a good point in another article about watching some of these prescription drugs that are prescribed that make people wanna harm themselves or others. guns don't kill people... people kill people. i wish i could remember the thread that i'm referring to. actually i think it mighta been posted by baby1 awhile back but not sure... anyway let us keep our guns. it's our RIGHT!!

I have read articles about that too. The author cited research that showed nearly every shooter in these mass shootings such as the Batman movie, the schools, and even some school shootings in other countries have been on prescribed drugs ranging from Prozac to Luvox to Lithium, etc. The author's opinion was that the problem could very likely be the drugs that are being subscribed. What he pointed out that is interesting is that the mainstream media never discusses the drugs their prescribed and most often tries to hide it.

Something that is true is that the U.S. has increased drastically the number of drug prescriptions for mental health and behavior issues. I believe we are also the highest drug prescribed country in the world. Well, if the mass shootings are increasing in occurrence and the number of people on drugs for mental health or behavior issues has also increased drastically, it would seem that the problem is the drugs themselves and not the person's natural mental decisions. The people may actually get worse by taking these drugs, and in many cases it has been said that the drugs were over prescribed and often wrongly prescribed. Pharmaceutical companies push drugs to doctors via their sales reps and the doctors write prescriptions like they are going out of style. However, the politicians and media stay away from talking about the link between prescription drugs and the murderers because the pharmaceutical companies have good lobbyists that donate to their campaigns.

**superman** · 01-05-2013, 09:38 PM

Re: I though Illinois was on the right path (finally) with gun control until I saw this.

Like the good woman sings come for my guns call the gravedigger, you ain't taking my freedoms I answer to no one and this includes the government. Im ready to die for freedom, I've got no problems fighting the corrupt, or dying for a better cause.

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I though Illinois was on the right path (finally) with gun control until I saw this.

I though Illinois was on the right path (finally) with gun control until I saw this.

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